Cook: I won`t give up my shirt easily

AFC Bournemouth defender Steve Cook will fight hard to keep his place in Eddie Howe's starting XI this season.

The 26 year old defender played every game of the 2016/17 Premier League season, completing all 3,420 available minutes.

With two goals and some of the best defensive statistics in England's top tier and across Europe, Cook was a deserved winner of the Micky Cave Player of the season award.

His performances have also been acknowledged by the Cherries, handing him a new and improved four year contract, keeping him at Dean Court until the summer of 2021.

But with AFC Bournemouth breaking their transfer record to sign Nathan Ake from Chelsea for a reported £20million, the left side of the centre half pairing could well be reserved for the Dutch international.

That leaves Cook moving across to the right side of central defence, which has previously been held by Simon Francis.